LONDON: Guanyu Zhou will become China’s first full-time F1 driver when he makes his debut with Alfa Romeo alongside Valtteri Bottas in 2022.
The 22-year-old, who is in contention for this season’s F2 title, has had extensive testing in older F1 machinery through his role as test driver for Alpine.
He has been linked with a move to F1 with Alfa Romeo for several months and was given the nod ahead of incumbent Antonio Giovinazzi, who the team announced was leaving.
His arrival continues the Hinwil-based team’s strategy of dovetailing experience with youth, as F1 rookie Zhou joins Bottas who arrives from Mercedes with 10 Grand Prix victories under his belt.
It comes after he became only the second driver from mainland China to have turned a wheel in a practice session during a Grand Prix weekend earlier this year when he drove his hero Fernando Alonso’s Alpine in Austria.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Guanyu Zhou to Alfa Romeo Racing,” said Alfa Romeo team boss Frederic Vasseur. “He is a very talented driver, as his results in F2 have shown, and we are looking forward to helping his talent flourish even more in Formula 1.
“We are proud of our line-up for 2022 and we are confident Zhou will form a very successful partnership with Valtteri. We are also looking forward to welcoming all the new Chinese fans who will join the team: Alfa Romeo Racing is a historical brand and one that embodies the spirit of Formula 1 and we will do our utmost to make the experience of our sport a great one in China.”
Zhou added: “I dreamt from a young age of climbing as high as I can in a sport that I am passionate about and now the dream has come true. It is a privilege for me to start my Formula 1 career with an iconic team, a team that has introduced so much young talent into Formula 1 in the past. Now the dream is reality.
“I feel well prepared for the immense challenge of Formula 1, the pinnacle of my sport, alongside a proven, world-class talent in Valtteri Bottas. I wish to thank the Alfa Romeo Racing team for this opportunity. Next year the target will be to learn as much as possible and as quickly as possible.
“To be the first ever Chinese driver in Formula 1 is a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history. I know a lot of hopes will be resting on me and, as ever, I will take this as motivation to become better and achieve more.”
F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali added: “The news Guanyu Zhou will be in F1 next season is fantastic for the sport and the millions of passionate Chinese fans that now have a home hero to cheer all year long. The pyramid in F2 is working and promoting talent to the topflight of motorsport.
“Zhou is an incredible talent, who will be a fantastic addition to the amazing grid we have, and he will entertain and keep all our Chinese fans excited in 2022.”
Commercial upside
Zhou, like many drivers on the F1 grid, joins the team with financial support. As per F1’s official website, interest in backing Zhou from Chinese companies has grown in the last 18 months as he’s improved in F2 and put himself on the F1 map with his links with Alpine programme.
As a result it is anticipated that Zhou’s arrival in F1 will allow Alfa Romeo – and the wider sport – to gain a commercial upside in that it will potentially entice more Chinese sponsors into F1 over the coming years.
As Alfa Romeo look to push up to the budget cap limit, additional income would be welcome but Vasseur says Zhou wouldn’t be joining the team if he didn’t have the talent to get the job done in F1.
“It’s great on a sporting performance side and a commercial side,” he said. “It’s a huge opportunity, for the team and the sport.
“It will be a challenge [for him]. To start in F1 is never easy. We have limited number of test days. But he’s talented, he’s doing well in F2, he’s still in contention for the title with Oscar. I think he has everything to be successful in F1. For the team and even for F1, it’s a huge opportunity to have a Chinese driver onboard. I take it as an opportunity for everybody.”
The dampener on the hopes of increased Chinese commercial interest in F1 however is that the 2022 season, which will have a record 23 races, will have no Chinese Grand Prix for a third year in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While races in Australia, Singapore, Canada and Japan – all cancelled for the past two seasons – were included on the calendar published in October, China remained “off the grid”.
